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The Left Banke

The Left Banke was an American 1960s pop-music group which produced two hit singles, "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina." Often utilizing so-called "baroque" string arrangements, the band's music is best viewed as an imaginative response to the work of The Beatles, The Zombies and other British groups of the era.

The group was formed in 1965 and consisted of keyboardist/songwriter Michael Brown, bassist Tom Finn, drummer George Cameron and singer Steve Martin (aka Steve Martin Caro). Brown's father, Harry Lookofsky, ran a studio in New York and took an interest in the band's music, acting as producer, manager, and publisher. Brown's song "Walk Away Renee" was sold to Smash, a subsidiary of Mercury Records, and became a hit in late 1966. "Pretty Ballerina," also written by Brown, charted in early 1967, and the Left Banke released an LP entitled, appropriately enough, Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina.

At this point, tension between Brown and the rest of the group began to surface, as Brown recorded songs with Bert Sommer, who had contributed to the first album. One of these, "And Sudden...